The Center for Child Welfare Practice Innovation (CCWPI) is an NCTSN center dedicated to advancing trauma-informed practices in the child welfare systems in the USA. CCWPI contributes to these advances by developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative trauma-informed practices to agencies serving children and families in the child welfare system. Such practices include Trauma Systems Therapy (TST), a treatment model for traumatized children and their families, especially in cases of risk from children’s impulses (e.g., self-destructive behavior, aggression) or when children are at risk for maltreatment from their caregivers. Although TST has been widely disseminated outside the child welfare system, it has often been used as the primary trauma-informed treatment model in child welfare prevention, foster care, and residential programs. The Never Look Away Trauma Training Program (NLA-TTP) is a nine-module training program for professionals in child services systems to derive individualized understandings of children and family needs and provide interventions according to these needs. NLA-TTP is designed to engage clinicians and other providers to consider various decision points in care by illustrating principles of care through an animated video series focused on the care of two children and their families. A version of NLA-TTP is available for foster parents. CCWPI also operates a train-the-trainer program for those interested in becoming trainers in NLA-TTP. The Child Welfare Traumameter is an organizational practice assessment and improvement tool for child welfare agencies to improve the quality of their policies and practices for traumatized children and families in their care. CCWPI is available for training, consultation, and technical assistance to install these and other practice innovations for agencies serving children and families in the child welfare and other child services systems; and has provided such support for many NCTSN centers.

The Center for Great Expectations (CGE) began in 1998 in a two-bedroom house, with a single bathroom, donated by Immaculate Conception parish in Somerville, New Jersey. For ten years, we remained in this location, meeting the needs of 12 expectant mothers on an annual basis, and growing our understanding of how best to provide dignified and compassionate services to this vulnerable population. During the early years, it quickly became clear that the need for safe housing with supportive services was greater than our space could accommodate and required a more comprehensive treatment approach than we were able to provide in Somerville. Thus, in 2008, we raised $4.2 million and built two residential facilities in Somerset - one for adults and their children needing long-term treatment for substance use and mental health disorders; the other for pregnant and parenting adolescents with co-occurring mental health disorders and their children. As our understanding of how best to meet the needs of the mothers and children that we served continued to evolve, so, too, did our mission and our continuum of care. From 2008 to 2018, CGE experienced exponential growth, including the development of Katy's Place, our on-site Child Development Center; Roots To Recovery, outpatient treatment program, providing behavioral health and substance-use treatment for men and women; Supportive Housing, including 28-units for at-risk families throughout Somerset and Middlesex Counties; and START, providing free telehealth and in-home clinical and doula/case manager services for pregnant and postpartum persons striving to overcome use of alcohol and other substances. CGE now serves over 1000 women, men, and children on an annual basis. Many of these individuals are homeless or economically marginalized, pregnant or parenting, or living with mental health or substance use disorders. In our continued growth and development, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to provide dignified and comprehensive care in an effort to break the generational cycle of abuse, homelessness, and substance use.

The Children’s Aid Society focuses its services on low-income communities in New York City (NYC), serving children, youth, and families. Since 2001, the Family Wellness Program (FWP) has provided comprehensive intimate partner violence (IPV) intervention and prevention services that help families heal from the trauma of violence and establish long-term safety. FWP specializes in working with child welfare-involved families impacted by IPV, primarily immigrant families and families of color whose primary language is Spanish. FWP services include crisis intervention and assessment, individual and group counseling, and case management and advocacy, all offered through a trauma-informed, client-centered, and anti-oppressive approach. FWP offers free, comprehensive IPV services to underserved NYC families, aiming to help them establish long-term safety and heal from the effects of trauma and abuse. The program's interventions with children incorporate evidence-based trauma treatment interventions such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP). The project's goals are to engage children ages 0-17 exposed to IPV in evidence-based trauma treatment, reduce trauma symptomatology in children and their survivor parents, and empower survivor parents to keep themselves and their children safe. The Children’s Aid Society partners with the National Child Trauma Workforce Institute (NCTWI) for training and consultation.

The Children’s Place is Kansas City’s specialized trauma treatment center for children age birth to eight years old. The agency opened its doors in 1978 in response to a significant need in Kansas City: children in this community were identified as victims of abuse and neglect, but there were very few resources to help them heal, and preventative programs were virtually nonexistent. Forty years later, the mission remains: to help vulnerable children and families heal from life’s deepest hurts. Through a commitment to building relationships and evidence-based treatments, The Children’s Place is a place of healing for the youngest citizens in this community. The programs provide a continuum of treatment needs, including an intensive Day Treatment for preschool-aged children, outpatient developmental screenings and mental health assessments, outpatient individual and family counseling and in-home family support services. The staff specializes in working with the child welfare systems, school personnel, medical providers and other community agencies. The Children’s Place works to equip children and their families with the coping skills needed to transcend the hardships of the past and to thrive within their everyday lives.